11 Facts about Literacy in America

An estimated 30 million Americans over 16 years old cannot perform simple and everyday literacy activities.
55% of adults with below basic reading comprehension did not graduate high school.
Only an estimated 13% of adult Americans can perform complex and challenging literacy activities.
Washington DC and Seattle are the country's most literate cities.
Children in families with incomes below the poverty line are less likely to be read aloud to everyday than are children in families with incomes at or above the poverty line.
Effective 2009, the United States was more literate than Italy, China and Greece (according to a report done by the United Nations Development Programme), but was trumped by Georgia, Ukraine, Latvia, Barbados, Poland, Hungary and Turkmenistan.
60% of America's prison inmates are functionally illiterate and 85% of all juvenile offenders have reading problems.
Approximately 50% of the nation's unemployed youth age 16-21 are functionally illiterate, with virtually no prospects of obtaining good jobs.
54% of all teachers have limited English proficient (LEP)students in their classrooms, yet only one-fifth of teachers feel very prepared to serve them.
It is estimated that more than $2 billion is spent each year on students who repeat a grade because they have reading problems.
85% of unwed mothers and 68% of those arrested have low literacy skills.

Sources:

National Center for Education Statistics